PRINCE ALBERT. dearest uncle, to take care of the health of one now so dear to me, and to take him under your special protection. I hope and trust that all will go on prosperously and well on this subject, now of so much importance to me." She did not appeal in vain. From that moment not only Leopold but Stockmar were devoted to the welfare of the prince. The course of his education, his health, and his pursuits were assiduously watched, and to a great extent judiciously directed, but in such a manner that he was left free, or at all events with the freedom of one who is grateful for kindly and sympathetic aid and agreeable counsel. On leaving London the prince and his brother went to Paris, where they made the acquaintance of the Orleans family; and thence to Brussels; for as Stockmar wisely considered that as it would be desirable that the course of studies on which they were to enter should include a frank estimate of men, the restrictions of the society of Coburg, where they would occupy so conventional a position, would prevent their forming acquaintances even though they might be receiving instruction from eminent professors. The political attitude of Prussia made it an exceedingly bad school at which to gain any true knowledge of public affairs and the relative position of European states, while the society at Berlin was either hopelessly formal or notoriously profligate. Vienna was equally objectionable for a German prince, and the universities were too narrowly scholastic for a young man who might have soon to take a practical part in the social if not in the political conditions of an important state. In Brussels Leopold himself was engaged in organizing and establishing a constitutional government; and whether the younger of the two nephews married the young Queen of England or not, he would there be able to pursue studies which would fit him to take a distinguished place in the world. Baron Weichmann, a retired officer of the EnglishGerman legion, was their tutor in history and modern languages. With M. Quetelet, the With M. Quetelet, the eminent statist, they read the higher mathematics, and their application to social and natural phenomena - studies which always 295 had such an attraction for Prince Albert that for several years he kept up an intimate correspondence with his distinguished tutor. In the spring of 1837 they went to Bonn, where they remained for eighteen months under the direct tuition of the able professors who were then attached to the university; and here Prince Albert was distinguished not only for the eager prosecution of his studies and his especial delight in questions of public law, metaphysics, and philosophy, but for his amiable temper, and for that social attraction of which his remarkable talent for grotesque but genial mimicry and his keen sense of humour were considerable elements. As he was also an accomplished musician, an excellent hand with the foils even among the student experts, and had taken care to maintain the practice of those manly sports which enabled him to enjoy exercise in the country, it may be believed that he justified the declaration of one of his close friends and companions, Prince William of Löwenstein, that "he spared no exertion either of mind or body; on the contrary, he rather sought difficulties in order to overcome them, the result being such an harmonious development of his powers and faculties as is very seldom arrived at." It was while the princes were at Bonn that the Princess Victoria came to the throne, and Stockmar, as we have already seen, came to England as her confidential secretary and adviser. In a modest and sensible letter Prince Albert congratulated his "dearest cousin" on the high but difficult task, for which he prayed that she might receive heavenly strength, and find a reward for her efforts in the thankfulness and love of her subjects. Of course there were rumours of a contemplated marriage of the young queen with her cousin, but the prince himself had not been made aware of the real state of the case. not, so to speak, an officially-recognized lover. It is pleasant, however, to know that during the autumn vacation, when he and his brother were making a pedestrian tour-a delightful holiday of exploration in Switzerland and amidst the Italian lakes-he collected views, little memorials, a "Rose des Alpes" from the Righi, to be forwarded to her on his return. He was After another short period of assiduous study | him. Stockmar, cool, calculating, and anxiat Bonn it was thought desirable that he should be formally made acquainted with the projected marriage. Thus we see alternately the diplomatic and official and the natural or human sides of this royal courtship. The queen had been consulted by her uncle, who thought that some decided arrangements should be made for the following year. The frank reply was such as might have been expected in a royal maiden trained as Victoria had been, and had in it something characteristic of the candid common sense for which the sovereign was even then distinguished. Both she and the prince were too young, and she being under age, her subjects might think her marriage premature. He spoke English but imperfectly, and it was important that this defect should be remedied; besides this he needed more experience, more self-reliance, and greater opportunities and habits of observation than he could possibly have acquired. We seem to be able to trace in these simple but practical objections the same sense of duty which caused the sudden impulsive declaration, "I will be good," to be made to the governess-the same desire to be worthy of her high calling which bent the little head over the puzzling Latin grammar. The prince, who was on a visit to Brussels, was informed by King Leopold of the family proposals, and of these which were accepted as necessary conditions. It was not unnatural that he should have been disappointed, but he took a high and honourable view of the situation. He was ready to submit to the proposed delay, but he should expect some assurance to go upon. If, after waiting perhaps for three years, he found that the queen no longer desired the marriage, he would be placed in a ridiculous position, and to a certain extent his future prospects would be ruined. It was certainly rather hard, especially as the queen had thought it her duty to cease corresponding with him after her accession. But Prince Albert had grown much more mature during the previous year, and the objections to his youthful appearance and even to the need for greater experience had already diminished. His uncle was more than ever satisfied with ously inquiring, had begun to form a high estimate of his character and abilities. These opinions were soon likely to be confirmed. On leaving Bonn it was arranged that the prince should make a tour in Italy, there to study not only books and politics, but men and manners. The queen, who had already confided to Stockmar her true wishes, requested him to accompany the prince. There was little difficulty in this arrangement, and any surprise which he might have felt that the confidential physician, secretary, and friend of his uncle Leopold should be his companion was easily accounted for by Stockmar's knowledge of Italian society and his undoubted attainments. It was a happy pleasant holiday, tempered by daily hours of study and simple active habits. The country round Florence was the delightful resort of the prince and his friend and companion Sir Francis Seymour, then a young lieutenant in the 19th Regiment. The greatest pain of this journey was that it was made without the brother, from whom he had always been inseparable. Prince Ernest had entered upon active military life at Dresden, and the parting had been very grievous, for the brothers loved each other sincerely. But there was no leisure for unavailing sorrow. Early rising, study from six till noon, a simple mid-day meal, a visit to some gallery of art or an excursion to the lovely environs of the city, or two or three hours devoted to the grand organ in the Church of the Badia-such was the usual day's occupation. The prince was never fond of the ordinary fashionable amusements of society, as people in England found out afterwards; but of course he sometimes had to accept invitations-indeed, in a letter to Prince Löwenstein, he says he never excused himself. "I have thrown myself into the vortex of society. I have danced, dined, supped, paid compliments, been introduced to people and had people introduced to me, chatted French and English, exhausted every conceivable phrase about the weather, played the amiable in short, have made 'bonne mine à mauvais jeu.' You know my passion for this sort of thing, and must therefore THE YOUNG QUEEN'S WOOING. 297 admire my strength of character-in short, I | application to subjects an acquaintance with have never excused myself, never returned home till five in the morning-in a word, I have fairly drained the carnival cup to the dregs." There is, of course, a touch of satire in this. The prince cared little for the small-talk and the mere frivolities of ordinary assemblies; and though his qualities were eminently social, they were never of that gregarious kind which made him happy in a crowd. There must be purpose in all that he said and did, and probably only those who knew him intimately and in his domestic relations really knew what an intensity there was in his affection, and how earnestly he regarded those who were near to him in his daily life. Ordinarily he was looked upon as cold and undemonstrative, if not actually inaccessible. There is no need now to expatiate on the social and domestic character of Prince Albert. All that need be said may be conveyed by one short extract from her majesty's journal on the 22d of January, 1841, not long after the birth of the princess royal, when the royal household had gone to Windsor Castle to spend the Christmas holidays after the queen's recovery. "I told Albert that formerly I was too happy to go to London, and wretched to leave it, and how, since the blessed hour of my marriage, and still more since the summer, I dislike and am unhappy to leave the country, and could be content and happy never to go to town. This pleased him. The solid pleasures of a peaceful, quiet, yet merry life in the country, with my inestimable husband and friend, my all in all, are far more durable than the amusements of London, though we don't despise or dislike these sometimes." The Italian tour was over, and it had greatly helped to expand the prince's knowledge and experience. He was preparing to settle down at the Rosenau-the place of his birth-there quietly to study the English language and history, when his father called upon him to accompany him to Carlsbad. Stockmar, who perhaps had some doubt whether the remarkable range and variety of his studies, and especially his proficiency in some accomplishments, might not prevent him from an earnest which would give him a due position thereafter, wrote to him sound advice and kindly counsel, and even ventured to banter him, particularly on his apparent aversion to spend much time in the society of ladies. Meanwhile the reasons for delaying the proposed marriage were diminishing. There were many arguments in favour of the young queen having a suitable protector who would have the right to be constantly near her. Other alliances had already been proposed, but in her own words "she never had an idea, if she married at all, of any one else." The mutual distrust of political parties was increasing rather than diminishing, and it was more and more difficult for the sovereign to maintain a position of neutrality. Still delay had been insisted on, the language of diplomacy and of friendly but formal representation had been addressed to the prince on the subject, and on the 10th of October, 1839, he and his brother once more arrived at Windsor Castle, evidently under the impression that the marriage was, if not altogether broken off, at all events suspended for three or four years. But three years had already elapsed since the first meeting, and handsome as both young men were, Albert's appearance was so striking not only in its manliness, but for the self-control and gentle intelligence of his expression, that doubts founded on his youth or want of experience were not likely to last. Probably the mere fact of such a meeting was enough. Two days after his arrival the queen writes to her uncle in her usual artless way: "Albert's beauty is most striking, and he is most amiable and unaffected, in short, very fascinating. The young men are very amiable, delightful companions, and I am very happy to have them here." It would be difficult to say whether Leopold, or Stockmar, or Melbourne was most pleased at the quickly following result-a result expressed in the young queen's letter to Stockmar, her counsellor and secretary, on the 15th of October. "I do feel so guilty, I know not how to begin my letter; but I think the news it will contain will be sufficient to ensure your forgiveness. Albert has completely won my heart, and all was settled between us this morning.... I feel certain he will make me very happy. I wish I could say I felt as certain of making him happy; but I shall do my best. Uncle Leopold must tell you all about the details, which I have not time to do. . . . Albert is very much attached to you." But the prince himself also writes to Stockmar on the following day, full of his new wonder and happiness at finding himself the object of so much affection, and quoting the famous lines from Schiller's "Song of the Bell." "Heaven opens on the ravish'd eye; The heart is all entranced with bliss." And this was not the transient sentiment of the first courtship. "True and fast," the prince proved to be worthy of the motto of his ancient house. The letters of the later married lives of this happy royal pair are just as really love-letters as any that note the first spring-tide of their regard. On the 23d November, 1839, there was a special meeting of the privy-council at Buckingham Palace, at which eighty-three members were present, to hear the queen intimate her intention of allying herself in marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg. "Precisely at two," the queen records in her Journal, "I went in. The room was full; but I hardly knew who was there. Lord Melbourne I saw looking kindly at me with tears in his eyes; but he was not near me. I then read my short declaration. I felt my hands shook, but I did not make one mistake. I felt more happy and thankful when it was over. Lord Lansdowne then rose, and, in the name of the privy-council, asked that this most gracious and most welcome communication might be printed.' then left the room-the whole thing not lasting above two or three minutes. The Duke of Cambridge came into the small library where I was standing, and wished me joy." I The royal declaration was in these words:— "I have caused you to be summoned at the present time in order that I may acquaint you with my resolution in a matter which deeply concerns the welfare of my people and the happiness of my future life. It is my intention to ally myself in marriage with the Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Deeply impressed with the solemnity of the engagement which I am about to contract, I have not come to this decision without mature consideration, nor without feeling a strong assurance that, with the blessing of Almighty God, it will at once secure my domestic felicity and serve the interests of my country. I have thought fit to make this resolution known to you at the earliest period, in order that you may be fully apprised of a matter so highly important to me and my kingdom, and which I persuade myself will be most acceptable to all my loving subjects." On the 16th of January, 1840, the queen opened parliament, and the first words she uttered referred to that marriage which it was hoped might be conducive to the interests of the people as well as to her own domestic happiness. There was but one general feeling in the country on the latter subject; and had it not been for the continued exasperation of the Tories at the supposed influence of the Whig ministry-a suspicion for which there were, as we have seen, many grounds of excuse the national welcome of the prince might afterwards have been unalloyed by those party disputes on the subject of his religion, his income, and his relation to the crown, which would have been painful to a less informed mind, or to a less dignified, equable, and undemonstrative temper. The successes which had been achieved in India were almost the only matter for congratulation alluded to in the speech from the throne, except this marriage; but the loyalty and regard of the people were sufficient to give the topic of the approaching wedding paramount importance even in the face of Chartist riots, and the general prevalence of disaffection towards the government, which arose from widely prevailing distress, and the demand for a reduction of taxes on articles of common consumption. The address of congratulation which was presented to the queen by parliament was warm and enthusiastic, and the emotion which greeted the announcement of the approaching marriage was intense. Sir Robert Peel, in supporting the address as leader of the opposition, spoke of her majesty's singular good O'CONNELL'S EXUBERANT LOYALTY. fortune to be able to gratify her private feelings while she performed her public duty, and to obtain the best guarantee for happiness by contracting an alliance founded on affection. Melbourne was doubtless willing and ready to relinquish those confidential relations which would now devolve on him who had the right, and would soon acquire the ability, to advise and protect the sovereign. But the prince had not yet arrived in England. The marriage contract had yet to be arranged; and there were other elements of discord beside those that proceeded from the political jealousies of the extreme Tories, the weak indifference of many of the Whigs, and the growing symptoms of disaffection to the government, which already pointed to a strange coalition between the Radicals and the followers of Sir Robert Peel, who foresaw that the time must soon come when the ministry would have to give way. The government was still hampered by the too obvious aid which it received from O'Connell, who lost no opportunity of assailing the Tories with violent abuse. He had taken the opportunity of signalizing her majesty's refusal to dismiss the ladies of the bed-chamber by addressing a meeting at Dublin, convened for the purpose of congratulating her on her resistance. At that meeting Mr. Henry Grattan had darkly declared that if her majesty had once been fairly placed in the hands of the Tories he would not have given an orange-peel for her life. "If some of the low miscreants of the party had got round her majesty and had the mixing of her royal bowl at night, I fear she would have had a long sleep." Feargus O'Connor in his mad way averred that he had excellent authority for the statement that the proposed change of the ladies of the bed-chamber was part of a plan for placing "the bloody Cumberland" on the throne. O'Connell was full of insidious flattery. "When I entered the Reform Club," he said, a friend seized me by both hands, exclaiming, 'She has done it! England has triumphed, and Ireland is saved!' May the great God of heaven bless her who did it!--that creature of only nineteen-lovely as she is young, and pure as she is exalted. She was something which might be dreamed 299 of in chivalry or fairyland. There she was in the power of the weakness of her sex. It was not her head that she consulted; it was from the overflowing feelings of her young heart that she was induced to take the course she so nobly pursued. Those excellent women who had been so long attached to her-who had nursed and tended to her wants in her childhood who had watched over her in sickness, whose eyes beamed with delight as they watched her increasing daily in beauty and in loveliness-when they were threatened to be forced away from her, her heart told her that she could as well part with that heart itself as with those whom it held so dear." That this wild talk, this monstrous perversion, had an immediate effect in Ireland there can be no doubt. In England it helped to emphasize Brougham's attacks on the ministry, and seemed to give force to the accusation that Melbourne and his adherents used unconstitutional devices to maintain an influence over the crown. Before the announcement of the proposed marriage O'Connell had taken another opportunity of addressing an enormous assembly of above 30,000 people at Bandon. "We must be, we are, loyal to our young and lovely queen. We must be, we are, attached to the throne, and to the lovely being by whom it is filled. She is going to be married!" This was greeted with tumultuous cheering, and with waving of handkerchiefs by hundreds of elegantly-dressed ladies who crowded the surrounding buildings. "I wish she may have as many children as my grandmother had-two-and-twenty! God bless the queen! I am a father and grandfather; and in the face of heaven I pray with as much honesty and fervency for Queen Victoria as I do for any one of my own progeny. The moment I heard of the daring and audacious menaces of the Tories towards the sovereign, I promulgated through the press my feelings of detestation and my determination on the matter. Oh! if I be not greatly mistaken, I'd get in one day 500,000 brave Irishmen to defend the life, the honour, and the person of the beloved young lady by whom England's throne is now filled. Let every man in the vast and multitudinous assembly stretched out before me |